Cleaning a chopping board in the woods

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bushcraftbob

Settler
Jun 1, 2007
845
0
42
Oxfordshire
How can I sterilise a chopping board in the woods? Would pouring boiling water on it and giving it a good scrub with a cloth be good enough to remove bacteria such as that left by raw chicken etc?
 
How can I sterilise a chopping board in the woods? Would pouring boiling water on it and giving it a good scrub with a cloth be good enough to remove bacteria such as that left by raw chicken etc?

That is as good as you can do but its probably good practice to keep one board or one side of the board for raw meat and the other side for veg etc.

Interesting research on wood boards and bacteria here http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm
 
one side of the board for raw meat and the other side for veg etc.

I would roughly agree. I would use one side for cooked meat and veg, the other side for raw meat. I usually boil some water, put fairy liquid on it ( i take in a small hotel style shampoo bottle -good for cleaning out mess tins too) an dgive it a good ol' scrub.
 
If there are any nice rounds about, split off a shingle, use then burn :) then repeat, saves on washing up.
 
Pre prep the meat before you go, then it goes straight from the packaging into the pan. Not very "bushcrafty" I know, but more convenient than a dose of the Gary's in the back of beyond....... Trust me...... Got the T shirt !
 
Robins link suggested microwaving wooden boards to disinfect them. I was thinking that propping the board up next to the fire (if your camp doesn't have a microwave) after washing it, would easily raise the temperature of the surface above 100 °C , killing anything nasty lurking there.


Z
 
Why don't you just chop meat up on leaves or grass etc? Can't say I've ever needed to take a chopping board into the field, and the amount of game I've dressed outdoors is immense.
 
If there are any nice rounds about, split off a shingle, use then burn :) then repeat, saves on washing up.

What he said. I never take a chopping board with me - I can always quickly make a field-expedient one whilst I'm out if I need to.

Rat
 

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